Beatae Mariae Virginis officium.

5.10 Pasquali engraved book.jpg

Title

Beatae Mariae Virginis officium.

Coverage

Venice

Publisher

J. B. Pasquali

Date

1740

Description

This eighteenth-century devotional work, utterly ordinary in content, is still quite a remarkable object. It is not printed from moveable types, but is engraved throughout, the text by Angela Baroni (fl. 1740), the illustrations (two of which are shown here) by Marco Pitteri (1702–1786); moreover, the Grolier Club copy is in loose sheets, just as it came from the rolling press, retaining its trim marks, crude sheet numeration, and other aids to the binder. It is at once a beautiful example of engraved illustration, an unusual and interesting use of engraved text, and a valuable specimen of format and structure in bookmaking.